God may work in mysterious ways, but a simple computer program called Evogod may
explain how religion evolved. By assuming that a small number of people have a
genetic predisposition to pass along unverifiable information, the program
predicts that religion will flourish. However, according to the US scientist who
wrote the program, religion only takes hold if non-believers help believers out
– perhaps because they are impressed by their devotion.

Despite a court-ordered ban on the
teaching of creationism in US
schools, about one in eight
high-school biology teachers still
teach it as valid science, a survey
by Pennsylvania State University
researchers reveals. About 16
percent said they believed human
beings had been created by God
within the last 10,000 years. Also
see: Evolution...